
SABBATH-SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY.
21
thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can
not enter into the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus knew that
Christ here referred to water baptism, and the renewing of
the heart by the Spirit of God.
"By nature the heart is evil, and 'who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean?—Not one.' No human invention can
find a remedy for the sinning soul. 'The carnal mind is
enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be.' Out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false wit-
ness, blasphemies.' The fountain of the heart must be purified
before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to
reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law, is at-
tempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has
merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian's
life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a
transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin,
and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about
only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit."—Desire
of
Ages, pages 171,
172.
4.
The new birth is controlled by the will as well as the old.
While the new life comes from God, and is dependent wholly
upon God, there must be an assent of the mind, a yielding
of the will, or the change will not be wrought in the soul.
"Let this mind by in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
Phil. 2: 5. See also Rev. 3: 20.
5.
"By
faith
you become Christ's, and by faith you are
to grow up in Him,—by giving and taking. You are to
give
all,—your heart, your will, your service,—give yourself to Him
to obey His requirements; and you must
take
all,—Christ,
the fulness of all blessing, to abide in your heart, to be your
strength, your righteousness, your everlasting Helper,—to
give you power to obey. Consecrate yourself to God in the
morning; make this your first work. Let your prayer be,
`Take me, 0 Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at
Thy feet. Use me to-day in Thy service. Abide with me, and
let all my work be wrought in Thee.' This is a daily matter.
Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Sur-
render all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as
His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be
giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life
will be molded more and more after the life of Christ."—Steps
to Christ, pages 84, 85.
"One dollar now is of more value to the work than ten dollars
will be at some future period."